Let's Do Alamo Creek Again!

Since I had never seen the old settlement of La Coyota I decided to hike that area south on Alamo Creek, then up North on Alamo Creek again. La Coyota area had quite a few residents and I found out from Bonnie Winslow that it had previously been interpreted and even had a parking lot for visitors years ago. It is now going back to nature, but it was fun to see.

After that I followed the creek down to the river, enjoying the cattle on the Mexican side and flowers, but not so much the Russian Thistle which has taken over the terrain. Each plant has a jillion little stickers that stick into . . . everything!

I also had a big wake-up call as I hiked today. I was sticking close to the edge of the hills looking for a cave that might be there, going through a very grassy area - lots of old grass, dead plant stalks, and a maze of javelina trails and old scat. I was making a lot of noise as I trudged along but, much to my horror, I flushed a group of 10 or so javelina bedded down. I was startled and so were they as the herd jumped up from the brush about 40 feet from me. All but 2 of them thundered away, but the two remaining ones were humongous, bristled up and heading towards me closing the gap to 20 feet. One went right while the other went left as if they were going to come at me from both flanks.

I was scared and started yelling, "No, javelina!!" and waving my trekking pole around. They were not intimidated as I tried to make myself appear to be the larger, more fierce predator. (That may work on bears and mountain lion, but not these guys!) So I quickly modified my posture & stopped yelling, turning and retreating as quickly as I could without panicking - listening all the time to make sure they would not charge me. When I glanced back after I felt I was at a safe distance they were still watching me so I gave up and went home. Smart huh?

I was amazed at how relatively calm I felt during the episode. I was hoping that my trekking pole would not collapse if I had to use it in defense, wondering how bad the wounds would be from their fearsome teeth and would they stop their attack long enough for me to get at my radio (safely tucked into a pocket on my backpack of course!) so I could call for help if needed.

Fortunately it appeared they just wanted me to depart but I was surprised they tenaciously stood guard while I retreated. We always tell visitors to be wary of the wild critters whose space we invade, but now, coupled with the dog attack I witnessed in the campground, I can once again speak from personal experience.

The first thing I found in the creek!

Part of the house was adobe and part was stone. I loved the logs used to give stability to the end of the wall.

The Rio Grande water level is very low and barely passable for canoeists and kayakers.

I've got to hit the plant books to learn about this one - lovely fluffy looking flowers.

North on Alamo Creek

It was in the 50s (!) today and overcast most of the day - perfect for hiking, so I trekked around for about 3 hours up Alamo Creek and found 2 old homesteads. Then headed back to the campground to watch birdies but wound up talking to visitors for quite a while. Back to work at the visitor center tomorrow. :-)

Homestead #1

Homestead #2 - There is nothing to help show scale but portions of the walls were 5 feet high

Homestead #2 from another angle. Note the large piece of wood that was probably a door lintel.

Winchester Repeating Arms Company, Bridgeport, Connecticut probably made for military in 1944? Could not find out what W.C. F stands for without seeing catalogues.

This was about 3/4" diameter blue & white ceramic(?) marble that I found at the site of an old rock home. I've never seen anything like this so I placed it in the wall of the home so hopefully no one will steal it. Since the site is rarely visited there were lots of large pieces of lavender, green, blue and brown glass, 4" and larger pieces of broken dishware, miscellaneous metal cans & pans, and the bullet casing.

Amazing poo! The pellets were all the size of jackrabbit stuff but formed into cubes - a conundrum!

Most of the leaves on this yucca looked like they had been removed by a scalpel, but it was probably an animal such as a deer that had eaten them.

Red-naped or Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in the campground.

This ladder-backed woodpecker was hammering away on the Russian Thistle and finally got up on a tree to find bugs.

"Hawk in the Hood" yesterday when we had sunshine. I think he wanted to join our happy hour. :-)

Spring Break Patrol Day

Last week we were deep into Spring Break so the park was crazy busy. For the first time ever, though, we had a lot of help patrolling all the popular trails like Santa Elena Canyon, Tuff Canyon, Mule Ears, etc. So I had to work a little harder to find a place to hike where there were not already rangers or other volunteers. I just "worked backwards" starting at the Burro Mesa Pour Off, enjoyed alone time at Trester's arch, then joining the crowds at Tuff Canyon.

Interestingly, we have a ringtail (normally a very nocturnal critter) living it up entertaining visitors during daylight hours at the Burro Mesa Pour Off ! I just missed seeing it as it lounged in the shade of a bush, but did get to see its butt as it scampered for cover in a rock den. Then a couple of days later a visitor brought photos into the visitor center.

Image of a ringtail from the internet. Cute huh?

The Buckeye trees at the Pour Off are in bloom and this bee is as big as my thumb!

I believe parts of this dog cholla are dying therefore the vivid yellow and orange. Even though it is almost ready to bloom.

This rock was hollowed out in a very rectangular way. Very unusual but appeared to be natural, not man-made.

I accidentally flushed this jackrabbit but he only fled 10 feet away and sat stock-still while I took a bunch of photos. He stayed right where he was while I carefully turned and walked away. No wonder he was being cautious - there were lots of coyotes in the area that were constantly moving away from me as I hiked.

Amazing rocks as I climbed up to the arch. Looks like they were extruded through one of those Play Doh machines. :-)

Explored an area of red rock on my way back to my care from the arch & found big chunks of this mineral. Not sure exactly what it is but it was very sparkly with long crystals, incorporating the red, orange, & pinks of the surrounding rock.

These antlers plus many other bones littering the wash.

The honeycomb in the canyon - a nice surprise for those who spot it.

Surprise meeting friends Deb and Brian Beaird from Mobil Oil days! Deb & Brian and their friends were hiking the Santa Elena Canyon trail and Brian recognized me even before he saw my name badge. What a great time we had reminiscing and answering questions about my wonderful vagabond lifestyle :-)